What Does Surfing Do to Your Body? Health Benefits Of Surfing
Surfing is an activity and a lifestyle of many who choose to take upon them the challenges, rules, and obligations while also having the awesomeness atmosphere that it provides.
Surfing does wonders for your body generally, as it has been proven and widely covered through research that surfing is one of the best outdoor activities that exploit the well-known therapeutic benefits of being active near water, such as lakes, rivers, and the ocean.
It is magical to me that surfing provides physical and mental stimulation all at once. In this post, I will explain what are the benefits that surfing grants to your body and mind. This is going to be fascinating so keep on reading!
Physical Health Benefits of Surfing
This is most likely the first thing that springs to mind when you think of how surfing may benefit your health.
And it definitely makes sense as surfing is kind of a sports activity that can feel intense at first and quickly, as it uses major muscles in your body.
Surfing Strengthens Your Core Muscles
The cross-training effect of surfing is beneficial for your core muscles, making it a full-body exercise. That is a fantastic regular core workout – building upper body and leg muscle strength.
Research suggests we use our trapezius, rectus abdominis, latissimus dorsi, obliques, triceps, biceps, and deltoids during a surf session. That’s a lot of muscles!
Also, when you paddle out to catch a wave, you are using your abdominal muscles to keep your upper body strong and stable.
Once you are up on the board, you need to use your core muscles to maintain balance and control.
And when you carve turns, you are working your obliques. Those are little muscles that even if you can’t see them, it can make your physique better.
You Work Your Legs and Arms
Not only your core muscles, but mostly paddling a lot to catch waves, or just for the sake of paddling, works your arms and shoulders.
Add to that the resistance of the water, and it quickly becomes a great workout for your arms and shoulders.
When you are surfing, you use your legs to push against the board to generate power and speed. This action works your quads, hamstrings, and glutes.
Add to that the fact that you are constantly shifting your weight from one leg to the other while maintaining balance on the board, turning on your surfboard, and leaning towards the direction you want to ride are all elements that require some leg work.
All of that together creates an arm, shoulder, and leg day at once! Feel like skipping the gym this time? Well, you should, but only if you go surfing instead.
Boosts Hearth Health
The greatest cardiovascular activity is one in which your heart rate speed increases just enough to provide the best benefits from your exercise.
If your heart rate speed is too low, you won’t reach the level of stress that the body needs to see improvements in its cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
If your heart rate speed is too high, you won’t be able to endure the workout long enough to see maximum health benefits; you’ll get tired and worn out quickly.
Well, guess what? Surfing is the only sport that sustains the pace of your pulse rate according to what your body needs.
The constant paddling and wave riding provide a great cardio workout. This can help improve your cardiovascular health and reduce your risk of heart disease. Your heart will become stronger and more efficient at pumping blood around your body.
And as we all know, cardio is one of the best things you can do for your health. In fact, The American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes of moderate physical exercise 5 days a week, as a cardio workout can help to improve the condition of your heart and lungs, lower blood pressure, reduce bad cholesterol levels, and helps to control weight.
When you’re working out, your heart rate may rise. Adrenaline will undoubtedly surge throughout your body, which helps you in pushing through.
Being physically active can help with better blood flow, healthier organs, better breathing, and a stronger heart.
Surfing Improves Balance and Coordination
Surfing requires you to constantly adjust your body position to stay on the board. This helps improve your balance and coordination.
As I mentioned earlier, surfing works your core muscles like crazy. Just trying to stay upright on a surfboard engages your abdominal muscles, obliques, and lower back.
And when you’re constantly shifting your weight and making small adjustments to stay on the board, you’re also working on your proprioception – or your ability to sense where your body is in space.
This improved proprioception can help with everything from keeping your balance to improving your general coordination.
It means that when you surf, your body is constantly adapting to the changing conditions of the wave. This requires the constant use of small muscles all over your body in order to maintain balance.
Also, it increases your flexibility as you need to stretch and flex when you want to stand, then on one hand you need to be flexible and loose but have a strong grip on the board on the other hand.
Mental Health Benefits of Surfing
Surfing is not only a sports activity but it can also help improve your mental health. If you looked for a stress-free plus doing physical activity, there you have it!
Surfing can improve your mood, make you feel happier, and increase your confidence in the ocean and even also your self-esteem. But how?
Surfing Is Actually Therapeutic
When you’re out in the ocean on a wave, surrounded by beautiful blue water and the sun shining down on you, it’s hard to be stressed or unhappy. The natural beauty of the ocean has a calming effect on the mind.
Lately, therapists are increasingly suggesting for people struggling with post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) go surfing, as it has therapeutic effects.
Even The Navy is exploring the idea that this sport could help treat military personnel with PTSD.
Have you ever walked by the ocean and started speaking to your partner or to yourself about some really deep thoughts that go through your mind, or something that makes you very emotional?
No wonder. The ocean does this effect while being proximate to it. it naturally soothes and relaxed your brain.
Surfing Helps Overcome Fear And Improves Your Confidence
write a paragraph about how surfing helps overcome fear and how it improves your self-confidence.
Fear is a natural human emotion that can actually be helpful in certain situations, such as when you need to be alert and cautious.
But for the most part, fear can be harmful because it often prevents us from trying new things or doing things we want to do.
Fear can keep us stuck in our comfort zone, where we feel safe but also unfulfilled.
Surfing is an activity that can help people overcome their fear. When you’re surfing, you are constantly facing new challenges.
Think about it – you’re literally entering the ocean, filled with an immense amount of water, and being controlled by it (I didn’t mean to throw out fear here!), with all of its glory and mystery.
The waves are always different, so you never know what to expect and this is something that can actually help overcome fear.
This unpredictability helps to reduce fear because it means you cannot plan ahead and predict what will happen, in many cases in life either – you have to stay alert and focused on the present moment.
In addition, surfing is a very social sport. When you go surfing with other people, you build relationships and trust with them. This helps to boost your confidence and make you feel more comfortable in new situations.
Thus, surfing help improves your self-confidence in that way by teaching you how to persevere through difficult challenges. Over time, this builds up your self-confidence until it becomes a part of your new superpower.
Conclusion
There we go! I hope you now have what it takes to embrace surfing for your mind, soul, and body beyond the obvious lean physical aspect of it.
There are many mental health benefits of surfing that can help improve your mood, confidence, and overall well-being, which is very interesting to me and fulfilling.
I know that for some, including me, surfing is a lifestyle and a way of life that has many benefits over us. Embrace them and think about it next time you go out surfing.